[Avodah] THE MEANING OF ROV AS PER THE RAMBAM

[Zvi Lampel]

In the following pesukim, the usual translation of rov or rabbah is
''many'' or "great."

(Yirmiyahu 30:14) Al rov avoneich atzmu chatosayich. Because of your many
transgressions, your sins became strong.
(Breishis 18:20) zaakas Sedom VaAmorah ki rabbah. The cry of Sedom and
Amorah, because it is great...
(Breishis 6:5) Vayyar Hashem ki rabbah ra-as ha-adam ba-aretz. And Hashem
saw that the wickedness of mankind became great/increased.

But to my surprise, even in the context of those pesukim, the Rambam in the
third perek of Hilchos Teshuva, second halacha, translates it as "attained
majority."

He writes that when one's sins (in the sense of their seriousness) attain
the majority over one's virtues, one thereby is judged a rasha. The first
posuk refers to an individual, the second to a nation, and the third to the
world.

Zvi Lampel
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